As far as we know, no woman in the history of the species has ever given birth and thought: “Wait a minute! How do I know that this baby is mine and not some other woman’s?” In contrast, if a baby comes out of the body of a woman you slept with nine months ago, that’s not nearly as reliable a clue. As an old saying has it, maternity is a matter of fact, paternity a matter of opinion.

— Steve Stewart-Williams The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve (2018)

More quotes by Steve Stewart-Williams

The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve (2018)

The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve (2018)

The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve (2018)

A Billion Years of Sex Differences: How Evolution Shaped the Minds of Men and Women (2026)

Darwin, God and the Meaning of Life: How Evolutionary Theory Undermines Everything You Think You Know (2010)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Steve Stewart-Williams (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.